Hawks-Cavaliers Preview

By TOM WITHERSPosted May 23 2015 6:26PM

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) - Kyrie Irving plopped down on a courtside bench following a brisk workout and two team trainers quickly went to work adjusting straps on his new knee brace.

The Cavaliers, completely in command of the Eastern Conference finals, may soon be closer to full strength.

Irving made some cuts and drives while wearing a brace on his left knee Saturday and the Cavs said the All-Star guard is questionable for Sunday's Game 3 against Atlanta. While Irving remains iffy, he hasn't been ruled out and that's an improvement after he sat out Friday night as Cleveland took a 2-0 lead with a 94-82 win over the hobbled Hawks.

Irving aggravated tendinitis during Game 1, and after visiting renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Friday in Florida, the Cavs rested one of their stars. Cavs coach David Blatt said Irving's status for Sunday will be a medical decision and won't be affected by Cleveland's seeming stranglehold on the series.

"If he's able to play, then he'll play," Blatt said. "He's a big part of the team, and this series is not finished. But if he's not able to play, he won't. That's the determining factor."

Meanwhile, the Hawks lost starter Kyle Korver, their best outside shooter, for the remainder of the postseason with a severely sprained right ankle.

It's another damaging blow to the Hawks, the East's top seed who were soundly outclassed on their home floor by LeBron James and the Cavs. Not having Korver makes things even tougher.

"He's a huge part of our leadership, our fabric, our fiber," coach Mike Budenholzer said about Korver, injured while scrambling for a loose ball in Game 2.

Atlanta has already been diminished by forward DeMarre Carroll's sprained knee. Nicknamed the "Junkyard Dog," he was supposed to be the one to keep James under control. But through two games, the Cleveland superstar has taken the bite out of Carroll and dominated.

James came within one rebound of a triple-double in Game 2, when he once again carried his team the way he has throughout his career. With Kevin Love out for the postseason following shoulder surgery and Irving not himself, it's fallen on James to pick up the slack by rebounding more, handling the ball more, doing more of everything.

And, as is usually the case, he's delivered. James is averaging 30.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists in the series.

"There's no doubt we have to do a better job defending him, both individually and as a team," Budenholzer said. "We've got to do a better job taking away the passing lanes, a better job arriving on the pass and a better job contesting shots. That's really not any different than what it was coming into the series. But as you see it, experience it, feel it, hopefully we'll get better as the series goes on."

The Hawks are running out of time, and history is not on their side.

James has been up 2-0 in a series 14 times and he has closed out all 14.

Although the Cavs have the Hawks on the ropes, James knows they're dangerous. Cleveland's two road wins have not given James any sense of security.

"We're just as desperate as we were in Game 1 and Game 2," he said.

The Hawks, though, are more distressed.

TALK THE TALK: James was wired with a microphone in Game 2 and was heard telling Irving, "I told you I got your back, G" after Cleveland's win.

James explained what he meant.

"I told him before the game," James said. "`That's why we're a team. That's why it's next man up. And that's what I'm here for and I got your back in whatever decision that you decide to make and know that we're ready for you whenever you decide to come back, whenever you're ready physically and mentally to come back."'

MOVING PIECES: Budenholzer said he hasn't decided who will start in place of Korver. One option is Kent Bazemore, who raised some eyebrows after Game 2 when he said, "I still think we're the better team. We just haven't shown it yet."

PEACEMAKER: James urged Cleveland residents to remain calm and channel any anger in a positive way after a judge acquitted a white police office of manslaughter charges following the 2012 shooting deaths of two unarmed blacks.

"Violence is not the answer," he said. "For the city of Cleveland, let's use our excitement or whatever passion that we have for our sport for the game tomorrow night, bring it tomorrow night."

James made similar comments following racially-charged cases in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York. But this one hits close to home, and James believes he and the Cavs can help the healing process.

"It doesn't matter what city it is, something that's going through a city that's very traumatic, traumatizing or anything of that case, I think sports is the biggest healers in helping the city out," he said.

Copyright 2015 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

LeBron's triple-double helps Cavs top Hawks in thriller

By TOM WITHERSPosted May 25 2015 1:35AM

CLEVELAND (AP) LeBron James dropped to his knees and slapped the floor with his hand.

He was exhausted and exhilarated - and one win from the NBA Finals.

"I gave everything I have," James said.

James shook off an atrocious shooting start, withstood Atlanta's gritty comeback and battled cramps and injuries to record a triple-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 114-111 overtime victory on Sunday night.

James missed his first 10 shots, but finished with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. The Cavs needed every single one of them to hold off the top-seeded Hawks, who fought Cleveland until the final seconds despite being without injured shooter Kyle Korver and losing Al Horford, who was ejected in the first half.

James, who favored his right leg for most of the fourth quarter and asked to come out of the game in OT before re-considering, hit a 3-pointer with 36.4 seconds left to put the Cavs ahead by one, and the superstar dropped a runner with 12.8 left to make it 114-111.

"He just wouldn't let us lose," coach David Blatt said.

Atlanta had two chances to tie it in the final seconds, but Shelvin Mack missed two 3-pointers.

When the final horn sounded, James collapsed to the floor and had to be helped to his feet by his teammates. It was their turn to carry him.

James received treatment following the game and the four-time league MVP grimaced as he took his seat on the podium for the postgame news conference.

"I've been better," he said when asked how he was feeling. "I play to exhaustion. I give as much as I can give, and sometimes the body just shuts down.

"In overtime I asked to come out, but I actually had a second thought. I wouldn't have felt right about the situation. It was mind over matter there for me. I'm playing through a lot but it doesn't matter. If I'm putting on the uniform and I'm on the floor, I have to make things happen for our team. It's that simple."

James will have just one day to rest up before the Cavs try to earn their second Finals trip - and the fifth in a row for James - in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

Jeff Teague scored 30 points and Paul Millsap 22 for the Hawks, who scratched and clawed for 53 minutes.

Down 10 in the fourth, the Hawks showed championship toughness and nearly pulled off a win that would have guaranteed them another home game on Thursday. They'll have to dig deep again, and they are facing long odds to win the series as no NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit.

"I'm very proud of the way our guys competed," coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Teague dropped a nasty, step-back jumper with 55 seconds left to put the Hawks up 111-109, but James answered - following an offensive rebound by Tristan Thompson - to knock down a corner 3 like the one he made at the buzzer to beat Chicago in the second round, making it 112-111 with 36.4 seconds left.

James then hit his runner over Millsap and the Cavs and 20,000 fans held their breath as Mack took two cracks at the rim.

The Cavs, who have been without forward Kevin Love since the opening round, were again missing All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, sidelined for his second straight game with an injured left knee.

But Cleveland has James, and even on a night when his shot wasn't falling, he carried the Cavs, who can earn their first trip to the Finals since James took them there in 2007.

The Hawks took a one-point lead into the third quarter when James decided to seize control of the game. He recorded 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in the period as Cleveland went ahead by 10.

Already in a bind, the Hawks were dealt another major blow when Horford was ejected in the final minute of the first half for throwing an elbow at Dellavedova's head.

As the two hustled for a loose ball on the floor, Dellavedova rolled up on Horford's right leg and the Atlanta big man responded by bringing his right arm down hard and appearing to connect with the side of the scrappy Australian guard's face.

The three officials took their time watching a review of the play before assessing Horford a Flagrant 2 and tossing him. At that point, Horford had been the Hawks' best player with 14 points.

"I did think he went at me, but I should have handled it better," Horford said. "Shouldn't have gotten caught up in that and it's something I'll definitely learn from."

A few of the Hawks accused Dellavedova of playing dirty. After all, he was the one who accidentally injured Korver in Game 2.

"I would obviously disagree with that, I was boxing him out," Dellavedova said. "You can see from the baseline view that he's pulling my arm."

James defended Dellavedova.

"We're not trying to get people hurt," James said. "But you play to win the game and you play aggressively. This guy, he works his tails off every single day. He beats the odds and he comes to play as hard as he can every single night. If they're focusing on Delly, they're focusing on the wrong thing."

NO IRVING

Wearing a new knee brace, Irving was on the Quicken Loans Arena floor nearly three hours before tipoff working hard on his game. He made several quick cuts and drives to the basket, and it appeared he might be ready to give it a go after sitting out Game 2. But the Cavs announced he was sitting out 45 minutes before the game's start.

TIP-INS

Hawks: Atlanta shot better from the outside, but is just 21 of 79 on 3-pointers in the series. ... The Hawks went 28 of 32 from the line.

Cavaliers: James has 12 postseason career triple-doubles. ... James (4,782) passed Karl Malone (4,761) for sixth place on the career scoring list. ... Since Jan. 19, the Cavs are 25-2 at home.

Copyright 2015 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited